The September 2025 issue of the Journal of Analytical Psychology presents a comprehensive exploration of war through the lens of analytical psychology, examining archetypal energies, cultural discontent, and internal discord. Guest-edited by Carolyn Bates and Ginny Hill, this issue brings together theoretical frameworks, clinical perspectives, and contemporary applications to understand the psychological dimensions of conflict and violence.
The issue opens with the guest editors’ editorial piece War: Archetypal Energies, Cultural Discontent, Internal Discord, which frames the thematic exploration. Ann Addison contributes the article Jung, Bion and the Crucible of War (open-access), examining how these two influential thinkers understood the psychological dynamics of warfare and conflict. Misser Berg offers The Myth of Ragnarok: Reflections on Polarization and Destructive Forces, using Norse mythology to explore contemporary patterns of polarization and destructive energies in society.
Jim Fitzgerald presents A Search for the Archetype of War, providing a theoretical examination of war as an archetypal force in human psychology. Svitlana Shevchenko contributes a deeply personal and professional perspective with How To Live All Alone in Total Darkness’: The Peculiarities of the Analyst’s Work During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, offering insights into conducting analytical work under conditions of active warfare and trauma. Barbara Cerminara presents another open access article, A Flight Back to Ground: Jung’s Recalcitrant Fourth as Rape into Consciousness. Symbolic Rape and Literal Rape in Persephone’s Myth, which examines the psychological dynamics of violation and consciousness through mythological and analytical frameworks.
Mark Winborn explores Stealth War: Defences, Individuation, and the Analytic Process, examining how unconscious conflicts manifest in therapeutic settings. Donald Kalsched contributes War in the Consulting Room: When Rage and Hatred Enter the Analytic Field, focusing on how violent emotions and traumatic energies emerge within the therapeutic relationship. Michelle L. Rivera-Clonch offers a constructive perspective with (Positive) Peace: A Depth Psychological Approach, exploring how analytical psychology can contribute to understanding and fostering peace-making processes.
The issue includes a substantial Film and Culture section, introduced by editors Laura Tuley, Constance Romero, and Michelle Cooper. Monica Luci reviews Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 film The Zone of Interest, examining its psychological portrayal of Holocaust perpetrators. Iryna Semkiv contributes a review of Border Guards, while Mark Saban reviews Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, both films offering different perspectives on conflict, responsibility, and the psychological dimensions of warfare.
The book review section features several relevant texts: Ronnie Landau reviews Charlotte Beradt’s The Third Reich of Dreams: The Nightmares of a Nation, exploring how political trauma manifests in collective unconscious material. Susan Tyler examines Cultural Complexes and Europe’s Many Souls: Jungian Perspectives on Brexit and the War in Ukraine edited by Jörg Rasche and Thomas Singer. Duc-Hung Nguyen and Manh-Tung Ho provide reviews of both Jungian Analysis in a World on Fire: At the Nexus of Individual and Collective Trauma edited by Laura Tuley and John R. White, and Michelle Rivera-Clonch’s A Depth Psychological Study of the Peace Symbol: Jung, Politics and Culture. Robert Tyminski reviews Jonathan Shay’s classic Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, demonstrating the enduring relevance of trauma studies in understanding war’s psychological impact.
The issue closes with a Book’s Received section by Stephen Garratt, and a List of Contributors. You can see the full issue with two open access articles, here.